Post-Human Trilogy

and toward a giant, abandoned warehouse. Pillars of light shone down through the broken slats of tile in the roof like the fingers of God, illuminating the hellish, dark interior. The A.I. set Craig down on the top floor of the sprawling building, and his boots sank into the two inches of dust that covered the ground.

“Be careful,” the A.I. warned. “The floor is not entirely structurally sound. There are holes.”

“Where are we?”

“This is an abandoned textile—”

“No!” Craig shouted with frustration as he used a powerful blast of energy to rip apart his cuffs, tearing through them like butter. “Where are we? What universe is this?”

“332.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking,” Craig spat back as he clasped his hands over his head. He resisted the urge to start pounding on his own skull. He wanted to dig his fingers inside and pull the A.I. out.

“I’m afraid that physically damaging your own brain will do little to alleviate your anger, Craig. However,” the A.I. continued as his form suddenly appeared only two meters away, “if you wish, you’re more than welcome to pummel me in this form.”

“What is this?” Craig asked with a snarl.

“A hallucination.”

“What do you mean?” Craig demanded. “You mean…I’m imagining you?”

“No, I am quite real, but I’m accessing the region of your brain that is responsible for hallucinations. It is a major component of the mind’s eye technology. The hallucination is visual, auditory, and also tangible, so if you punch me, your brain will make you feel as though your fist has made contact with my jaw.”

“That sounds tempting,” Craig replied, nodding enthusiastically at the thought.

“I’m ready when you are,” the A.I. said in his typical matter-of-fact tone. He closed his eyes and tilted his jaw so Craig could hit him at an angle that would level the most force and, in theory, produce the most satisfaction.

Craig wound up, but after a couple hesitations, he abandoned the effort.

“Are you sure, Craig? Your system is rife with enormous amounts of cortisol and adrenaline. This would likely help you alleviate some of it and I would not feel any discomfort.”

“That’s the problem,” Craig replied. “I want somebody to feel some discomfort.”

“Your anger is understandable.”

“Where are we?” Craig repeated his question.

“I’m sorry, Craig, but I do not feel comfortable relaying that information to you.”

“Why?”

“Because you will undoubtedly choose to interfere with this timeline, just as you did in the last.”

“And that’s bad, why? Don’t tell me you’re siding with the Purists.”

“Regardless of the possible implications for the history of this universe and the multiverse at large, the greater concern is that the Purists will expect you to interfere—and they’ll be waiting.”

“Hold on,” Craig responded, as something in the A.I.’s explanation did not resonate with him. “How can the Purists be here? I thought we just abandoned them in the last universe.”

“We did. However, we have to assume they will locate your Planck platform and follow us here.”

Craig began shaking his head as he paced away.

“Be careful,” the A.I. warned once again.

“I want an explanation. What the hell is going on? How are we hopping from one universe to another?”

“Certainly. As I said earlier, explanations are my forte. We are using the Planck platform to concentrate enormous amounts of energy at one point, thereby manipulating Planck energy and causing space and time to become unstable. In the midst of that forced instability, a bubble forms. The bubble acts as a gateway to a parallel universe.”

“A bubble?”

“It lasts only for a microsecond, which is why you don’t see it and why, to you, it appears as though you have instantly traveled to another universe.”

“So, you’re saying you discovered parallel universes?”

“In tandem with the researchers at our facility, yes.”

“But…but how can parallel universes exist?”

“They’ve been incorporated into membrane theory for decades, Craig. However, once humanity attained access to an artificial intelligence with sufficient power not only to process the enormous amounts of data already available, but also to creatively concoct experiments at a rate that humans simply couldn’t match before, it was only a matter of time before evidence was uncovered. The universe, Craig, is really a multiverse, floating in an infinite darkness known as the bulk, and is only one of an infinite number of parallel universes.”

“Impossible,” Craig replied, mesmerized.

The A.I.’s eyebrow arched quizzically. “The evidence is all around you.”

“I know. I know, but…damn.” Craig sat on the dusty floor and rested his elbows on his knees. “I just…I’ve never felt so…lost.”

“You would prefer to believe that our universe exists alone?”

Craig shook his head. “I don’t know. I just wish I wasn’t here. I wish I was with Sam and none of this had happened.”

“In many universes, that is indeed the case.”

Craig shot the A.I. a glare. “That’s not much solace.”

“Perhaps not, but it is true, however. The many worlds theory has turned out to be more than just a theory. Indeed, all possible alternative histories and futures are real, each one encapsulated in its own universe. The universes branch off from one another. If you could see the bulk,” the A.I. continued as he conjured a 3D computer image of what he described, “it would look very much like the neurons in your brain, each universe splitting off the last, connected, yet separate. The 3,000 parallel universes, or exo-universes, that we have currently identified are those closest to us within the bulk.”

“Okay. Crazy as that sounds, it kind of makes sense. And what about these magnetic fields we’ve been generating? I didn’t know magnetic fields could do these things. Why didn’t we have these before?”

“The magnetic fields of the past were quite simple in comparison to what you are generating with your MTF. This is the age of nano materials, Craig. Your magnetic field is the result of electromagnetically energized particles that are organized into patterns that make them spin at high velocities.” Once again, the A.I. projected a helpful animated 3D image to illustrate his point. “If we had a microscope powerful enough to see these materials, we’d see that the pattern they form is similar to a honeycomb structure, with the north and south poles reacting to one another in such away that the attractions and repulsions cause them to spin. The honeycomb structure is woven into a net that surrounds you. This not only forms your protective cocoon, but it can also propel you in whichever direction you desire by propelling particles away at high velocities.”

“And these fields are strong enough to protect us when we go through the Planck?”

“Yes. The Planck platform generates a super-strong field in the same instant in which the Planck bubble forms. It is analogous to a firewall, protecting you from the instability of space and time that surrounds you.”

“All right. I get it.”

“Indeed. Although it isn’t possible for any human to fully understand the enormous calculation and experimentation required, the general concepts are relatively easy to grasp. And, speaking of relativity, Aldous asked me to explain to you why the universes are moving at different time rates.”

“Yeah, I don’t need to know if it’s going to be too complicated,” Craig said, holding one hand to his forehead while he waved the A.I. away with the other.

Undeterred, the A.I. continued. “It’s quite simple. Each universe is actually moving at the same time rate. Therefore, they are obeying Einsteinian principles. However, time moves differently according to mass and gravity, so while the universes might be moving at the same rate in totality, the speed of time in the vicinity of the Earth can be dramatically different.”

“I didn’t quite catch that,” Craig replied after giving his head a quick shake. “One more time.”